Design and Construction
The Catalina 30 was drawn by Frank Butler and produced by Catalina Yachts, with the hull carrying a length overall of 29.92 feet and a waterline length of 25 feet. Beam measures 10.83 feet, and the listed displacement is 10,200 pounds balanced by 4,200 pounds of ballast. These are background figures that frame a boat built as a straightforward fiberglass coastal cruiser rather than a stripped racer, and the Mk II refinements should be read against that established platform.
Rig and Sail Plan
The standard rig on the Catalina 30 carries an "I" dimension of 41 feet and a "J" dimension of 11.50 feet, with a "P" of 35 feet and an "E" of 11.50 feet defining the mainsail rectangle. The standard mainsail itself shows a luff of 35 feet and a foot of 11.5 feet for an area of 207.78 square feet, while the standard jib covers 225.19 square feet. Owners working through the sail inventory will note the documented genoa options, including a 135% genoa at 307.63 square feet and a 150% genoa at 348.91 square feet, which speak to the boat's flexible light-air cruising profile.
Accommodations and Cockpit
The most notable change brought by the Mk II is its T-shaped cockpit, a layout shift that distinguishes the later boats from earlier sisterships. The T-shaped cockpit is the most notable change on the Catalina 30 Mk II, and it shapes how the deck plan reads at the transom and companionway interface. Within the evergreen record, that cockpit revision is the headline accommodation-related identifier for the sub-model.
Known Issues
The supplied authority extract does not document specific structural or systems defects for the Catalina 30 Mk II beyond the identification of the cockpit change and the standard sail-rig geometry. A researcher using only this ledger would treat the model as defined by its specification continuity and the Mk II cockpit revision rather than by a flagged defect list.
Refits and Ownership
Because the Mk II began around hull number 3300 in 1986 and the broader model was first built in 1976, owners are working with a design of considerable production maturity. The available facts support an ownership picture built around a known rig schedule, a defined ballast-to-displacement baseline, and the recognizable T-shaped cockpit as the Mk II telltale.
The Verdict
The Catalina 30 Mk II is best understood as a late-run refinement of a high-volume cruiser, carrying the same Butler-designed bones as the earlier boats but identifiable by its T-shaped cockpit. The ledger-backed picture is one of a well-documented, conventionally rigged coastal monohull.
Pros
- Clear Mk II identification via the T-shaped cockpit
- Documented standard rig and sail-area inventory
- Long production history with known baseline specifications
Cons
- Ledger does not provide model-specific defect or systems guidance
- No attributed handling or construction-quality commentary available
